OK,......................I'm not getting personal, but, there might be a correlation to sleeping on the side of your meniere's ear. My Allergist suggested that when we sleep, stomach acid has a way of creeping up through the esophagus into the throat and mouth and into the Eustachian tubes. WWWWWHHHHHHhhaaaaaattttttt? Sounds creepy!! Well, I mostly sleep on my left side and it's my left ear that is the affected ear. He said go to Costco and buy these packs of ranitidine ( acid reducer ) and take one before going to bed. When we are lying down the acid has an easier way of coming up and getting to the ears. Stomach acid has wreaked havoc on my esophagus so, yeah I guess it could wreak havoc on my inner ear. Enough to allow a virus a way in and do its dirty work. Damn Virus!! They are cheap- 190 tablets for $8.50. OK..... Some of you know me, by now. Even though I can't always convey the messages clearly in writing. I would eat cow manure if it would clear the fullness in my ear. So, I'm giving this a try.
I used to sleep on my left side - the side I prefer. It also happens to be the side of my bad ear. I mentioned to my doctors that I thought there was a connection and they basically looked at me like I was a loony tunes. LOL I actually just "trained" myself to not sleep on that side - I put pillows behind me to prevent it. It took a while but I never sleep on that side anymore. Still miss it though! ;D
REALLY? Yet another compromise? Urg. I enjoy turning over and going back to sleep. The enjoy-ments keep getting smaller and smaller. Silver lining please? ???
Well this is weird. I have to start going to sleep on my left side, but I won't really fall asleep until I tuen to my right side. I'm bilateral, but my left ear is my bad ear. If my ears are ringing or feeling pressure, it feels better to sleep on that side. We're all different. That's for sure. Very interesting topic.
So interesting that you brought this up. I used to sleep on one side or the other, not particularly favoring one side. Sometimes on my back, too. Back when this started in Dec. 2011, when I got better from a cold but my ear stayed stuffed, I stopped sleeping on my left (bad) side. I thought that might help, to keep the fluids from pooling there. I also slept propped up on a bunch of pillows for a while. I don't sleep on so many pillows anymore, but I still don't sleep on my left. I feel like I'm maybe being kind of superstitious about it, but I just don't want to do anything that might make this worse.
My bad ear is my right ear. I usually fall asleep on my left side but wake up in the morning on my right side.
I sleep on my right side but my left ear is the bad one. I actually have a hard time falling asleep on my left side but I think it's more out of habit and not because of my ear.
I think there may be something to this santa based on my experience. A good oto will ask about or look for signs of gerd too.
I used to sleep on my right side and that is now my bad ear. I cannot and have not been able to sleep on that side down for 2 yrs and even after a Laby I cannot lay on that side.
Hey June, I am interested in finding about your journey which led to allergy shots, if you are willing to share. Did you take an allergy test of some sort and if so what was it? Then is the allergy shot then directed at specific allergens or is an allergy shot a more generalized approach to allergy relief? I think it might be helpful for me to look into this thinking maybe a Natureopath or some 'alternative' health practioner might be the better place to go. Anybody else who is willling to ring in on this is very very welcome to do so. Perhaps starting a new link? Or direct me to a link that exists that someone knows of. Thanks!!!!
My family dr had prescribed antivirals and they helped a lot but didnt seem to take care of everything. I thought maybe i wasnt taking the right dosage or something. I was looking for a dr who understood the use of antivirals with MM. I read about dr derebery at house ear clinic on this board. She is both an oto and an allergist. I knew house ear clinic was renowned wo i figured i would give this a try. I went to house, dr derebery did 2 days of allergy tests. Based on the results the clinic made up seeum specific to my allergies. I have taken weekly shots for more than 6 years. They have done a lot of good. They do take a while to work though.
Thanks for this June. I did see that MD and her clinic posted so I looked at it. Funny her site doesn't mention MM..at least from what I saw. Did you have classic allergic symptoms or already knew this was an issue or was it all new information? Weekly shots…yikes…guess that won't work for me living in San Francisco. Maybe something up hee like that.
For what it's worth, I don't think I have stomach acid issues as much as ongoing sinus issues. While I have classic allergy symptoms I have been tested multiple times and nothing shows up. When I can keep the congestion and sinus at bay, I have less ear pressure and issues. When the sinus issue was first found (when I was trying to eliminate tumors or any other cause of the vertigo and as such asked for CT scan), I had significant sinus infection around my left ear and behind it. The doctors (most) still don't necessarily agree that there is a connection...but to me....if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....it just may be a duck. LOL Not sleeping on the bad side definitely seems to help - which to me makes sense - because it would minimize the sinus drainage around that ear. Still miss sleeping on that side though! But I don't miss the daily pressure so it is worth it.
I sleep on my hearing ear (right). Always have. It leaves me deaf at night, which isn't really a bad thing.
I wonder if this is also a blood flow/ pressure thing with our bad ears. The allergy, sinus, acid up the eustachians all could make sense. When I get a vertigo (night or day) I have to get semi-propped up, usually on 3 pillows to minimize the spin. Perhaps that takes pressure off whatever goes on in there.
I always wake up feeling a little off if I sleep/lay on either side for too long. My left ear is my bad ear but sleeping on my right side is worse.